


Ethan, the Bestest Babysitter

by firecracker189



Series: The Adventures of Baby Jack and Little Ethan [14]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Baby!Jack, Daddy!Mark, Gen, Little!Ethan, Little!Jack, daddy!tyler, nsap, toddler!ethan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-16 04:36:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18514030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firecracker189/pseuds/firecracker189
Summary: Prev. Chap. 15 of 'Regression Oneshots.' Ethan babysits Jack.





	Ethan, the Bestest Babysitter

Tyler jingled the keys in his hand as he stuck his head into the darkened living room where Jack and Ethan were playing Call Of Duty together. “Hey, I’m out! I’m gonna go pick up Mark, and I’ll be back in about an hour!” He was met with identical grunts as he shut the door behind him, shaking his head as he slipped into the car. “Don’t strain yourselves saying goodbye or anything,” he mumbled as he backed out of the driveway.

The game playing went on for another half hour before Ethan initiated a stopping point and headed upstairs to shower, leaving Jack lounging on the sofa. However, in the half hour of time it took for Ethan to take care of hygiene, Jack had slipped. Hard. Padding down the stairs, Ethan was met with the sight of a clearly very small Jack curled up on the sofa. Ethan swallowed and ran a hand through damp hair, breathing out harshly. He hadn’t the slightest idea what to do as far as watching over someone that young. Ethan fidgeted in place for a moment and tugged his phone out of his sweatpants, quickly texting Tyler.

**Ty, we got a situation.**

_What’s up?_

**Um, Jack’s Little and… I don’t know what to do.**

Ethan nibbled at his lip while the little typing bubble appeared. “Tyler, please…” he mumbled under his breath.

_Okay, first thing? Calm down and take a deep breath. You’re gonna do fine. If he’s still big enough, you can get him to change clothes himself and you won’t have to see him naked, if that’s what you’re worried about. Next you’re gonna wanna go find his paci and his blankie and make sure he has those so he doesn’t start crying. Honestly, if you just put on a movie or something I’m sure he’ll be fine till Mark and I get back._

Ethan ran a hand through his hair again.

**Um, alright. I just… no. it’ll be fine. I’m sure it will.**

_You’ll do great, bud. I gotta go. See you later?_

**Yeah. Hopefully.**

Ethan slid his phone back into his pocket and took a deep breath. He could do this, Tyler said so! “Right,” he mumbled, and stepped into the living room. “Hey,” he greeted casually, and folded himself onto the sofa.

Jack hummed around the finger in his mouth and scooted closer, putting his head down on Ethan’s shoulder.

“Not very Big anymore?” Ethan asked, and relaxed into the warmth of the presence beside him.

Jack nodded softly.

“That’s okay,” Ethan told him. “I don’t mind. Do you want your blankie, or anything?” he asked awkwardly, feeling absolutely inept and set adrift in the current situation.

Jack took a moment to think about it, but shook his head. Ethan was flummoxed. What the hell was he supposed to do?

“Um… are… you hungry? Tired? Cold?”

Jack shook his head again and burrowed closer, wanting cuddles, though Ethan wasn’t getting the message. Why couldn’t he be more like Daddy, and  _offer_ cuddles?

Ethan shifted as Jack pressed closer and wracked his brains for things little babies liked. “Um. Movie?” he asked, smiling to himself as he grabbed for the remote control and brought up  _Bug’s Life_ from the night before. Yeah, kids liked movies. (Also, this movie never got old, even when you weren’t a Little or in headspace.)

Jack shrugged and continued to chew on his finger, squirming until his head was in Ethan’s lap.

Ethan went absolutely still, like someone confronted with a poisonous snake, hands hovering in the air as he processed the situation. Okay, so… maybe he just wanted to be close to someone. That, he could get behind. He was totally clingy when he was in headspace, so it made sense that someone younger than him would be more in need of contact. Noticing the finger in Jack’s mouth, he frowned and cautiously moved to open the drawer of the side table, where he thought Mark kept a stash of cleaned pacifiers. “Aha!” he mumbled triumphantly, causing Jack to look up at him in curiosity. “Found you this,” Ethan explained, closing the drawer and showing Jack his green dinosaur paci with his name on the shield. Jack made a little pleased sound in his throat and opened his mouth. “There we go,” Ethan stuck it in, feeling pleased with himself for counteracting a behavior neither Daddy would accept. He felt like a real babysitter. “That’s better, isn’t it?” he cautiously rested a hand on Jack’s shoulder, relaxing more by the minute as the movie progressed. Jack became more and more of a dead weight against his knees, until finally around halfway through the movie, he was asleep. Ethan got out his phone again.

**He’s asleep on me, what do I do?**

_Nothing. Don’t ever move from that spot, ever. I’m just kidding, dude. Either let him sleep or wake him up and offer to take him upstairs for a nap._

**Do I have to um, like, change his clothes and stuff?**

_No, not unless you want to. We’ll be home soon, but until then you can either just sit there and let him nap on you, or try to get him to go upstairs._

Ethan didn’t reply, instead chewing the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. Shoving his phone back in his pocket, he shook Jack softly. “Hey, Jack? Wake up, buddy, we gotta move you. Let’s get you upstairs for a nap.”

Jack stirred and sat up, then promptly burst into tears, making Ethan jump and curse. His phone pinged. It was a message from Tyler.

_Oh, but if you **do** wake him up, do it softly and CAREFULLY! He DOES NOT like to be woken up when he’s cuddling someone, he may cry._

Ethan growled and nearly flung his phone across the room. “Now you tell me.” He took a deep breath and then turned back to Jack. “Hey, buddy, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he tried to soothe. “Let’s just…” he stood up and offered a hand. “How about we just go upstairs and find your blankie, hmm?” Jack sniffled and sobbed softly around his pacifier, dubiously taking the hand and letting himself be led up the stairs.

Lucky for Ethan, Chica was hiding out in Jack’s room when they got there, and provided the perfect distraction while he hunted down the coveted item. Jack planted himself in the floor and let Chica whine softly and nuzzle at his face, tail wagging as she comforted him. Ethan grabbed the soft yellow fabric and held it out to Jack. “Look at what I found,” he said quietly, feeling awful for having made him cry. Jack looked up from Chica, eyes still damp as he took the blanket and cuddled it close. Ethan sucked in a breath. “Um, do you maybe wanna go lie down for a nap?” he gestured to the bed, and Jack whined and nodded, crawling across to the bed and scrambling up onto the mattress. Ethan tugged back the covers and Jack crawled under them, catching his arm as he made to turn away. “What?” he asked, frowning. Jack tugged until Ethan finally got the message, sinking down beside him. “Oh. You want me to stay,” he mumbled, wriggling till he’d found a good position and letting Jack curl up against him. “Okay. I can do that.”

What he didn’t count on was also falling asleep. He woke to soft chuckles and someone poking him in the shoulder.

“Ethan,” Tyler murmured, and he turned groggily, with an eloquent “Wuh?”

Tyler laughed softly. “Just checking on you guys. Come on, you’ve got your own bed, and Mark wants to spend time with Jack.” Groaning, Ethan slipped from the bed and stretched, joints cracking.

“Ugh, mnh,” he complained as he followed Tyler from the room. “I now realize just how tough you guys are and would like to offer the heartiest of thank yous for being such an awesome caregiver,” Ethan shut the door and turned to face Tyler, tugging him in for a hug.

“Eth, you watched him for like, an hour.” Tyler laughed, and Ethan hid his face in his chest.

“But it was hard.” He defended himself. “I’m trying to have a moment with you, and you’re ruining it.”

“Alright,” Tyler agreed. “You’re right, it’s hard, and I’m proud of you. Also, you’re welcome for being the worlds awesomest Daddy.” He replied, patting Ethan’s back. “Now go, shower. Then we can finish the movie together.”


End file.
